Pests are the bane of every gardener. However, many are reluctant to use toxic pesticides and other chemical deterrents. Epsom salt is 100% natural, and the magnesium and sulfate content has been found to be effective at warding off pests in gardens. Simply dissolve 1 cup of Epsom salt into 20 litres of water.
Sprinkling Epsom Salt As A Deterrent
Not only will you be keeping pests away from your garden, but you will also be giving your garden plants a nutritional boost. To ensure that your garden will always be safe from pests, sprinkle three pounds of Epsom salt for every 1,250 square feet of garden.
But Epsom salt isn't just good for humans! It can also be used to repel rodents due to its acrid smell. Sprinkling Epsom salt onto your trash can lid or around areas where rodents are known to burrow creates a protective boundary that can keep them away.
If you know your soil is deficient in magnesium, adding Epsom salt to your garden soil can be a good idea. However, most soil (especially loamy soil) will maintain plenty of magnesium, sulfur, and other nutrients if you regularly add some compost each year.
Continuing in the vein of undesirable scents, Epsom salt is another ingredient that keeps raccoons away. For the most effective protection, sprinkle Epsom salt both inside and surrounding your vegetable garden. Racoons will generally keep a safe distance from that smell, avoiding your garden and coops.
Get rid of raccoons
A few tablespoons of Epsom salt spread around your garbage cans will deter the raccoons, who don't like the taste of the stuff.
It's also said to help seeds germinate and repel slugs and other garden pests. But unless your soil has a magnesium deficiency, the University of Minnesota Extension Service recommends against adding Epsom salt. Too much can harm your plants and soil.
If you add Epsom salts to soil that already has sufficient magnesium, this can harm plants and contaminate soil. In addition, spraying Epsom salt solutions on plant leaves can also cause leaf scorch. Excess magnesium can also increase mineral contamination in water that percolates through soil.
Ideally, do this in springtime just as new leaves are emerging, and again after blooming. Epsom salts can also be added to water and used as a soil drench, watering the plant at the soil level. When planting, you can add Epsom salts directly to the soil, or work it into the soil without diluting it in water first.
But what exactly do mice and rats hate to smell? Mice can be kept away by using the smells of peppermint oil, cinnamon, vinegar, citronella, ammonia, bleach, and mothballs.
Epsom salt
Sprinkle Epsom salts onto your trash can lid or around the areas that pests like to burrow into or dig around. Epsom salts will deter most any pests, including raccoons, mice, and squirrels among others.”
Epsom salt can be a very effective pesticide, and it can be used against ants specifically. However, it does pose a risk to your garden if you use too much. Consider saving the Epsom salts for a relaxing bath and pick another organic pesticide if you have a small infestation.
Epsom salt – actually magnesium sulfate – helps seeds germinate, makes plants grow bushier, produces more flowers, increases chlorophyll production and deters pests, such as slugs and voles. It also provides vital nutrients to supplement your regular fertilizer.
Vinegar as a bug repellent. Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray. Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray. It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others.
Epsom Salt Uses: HOUSEHOLD
Clean bathroom tiles: Mix equal parts Epsom salt and liquid dish detergent and use as a scrub on bathroom tile. Prevent slugs: Sprinkle Epsom salt on or near interior entry points to prevent slugs. As a hand wash: Mix Epsom salt with baby oil and keep by the sink for an effective hand wash.
For general garden start-up, mix one cup of Epsom salts per 100 square feet into soil before planting. To boost germination, mix one tablespoon of Epsom salts in a gallon of water and add to soil after seeding.
Prevent Fungal Disease
MAKE IT: Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 2-3 drops of liquid soap in 1 liter of water. Spray the solution on the infected plants. Baking soda helps the plants become less acidic and prevents fungal growth.
The grainy product, per se, is suitable for all plants but with some reservations. Being one of the "primary" secondary nutrients (next to the big three: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), Epsom salts should only be used on plants that suffer from magnesium deficiency symptoms.
2. Fertilize your Succulents. Epsom salt works wonders as a fertilizer during the growing season and can help keep your succulents looking lush and beautiful for a long while. In addition, using an Epsom salt fertilizer is a great way to help encourage blooming in many succulents.
As the plant stores all the necessary nutrients in its tubers, you don't have to feed it frequently. A weak dose of all-purpose liquid fertilizer, once every 5-8 weeks during the growing season, will be more than enough. Also, occasional foliar spray of Epsom salt will make this plant lush and green.
If your plant's leaves are turning yellow, it might have a sulfate deficiency. If your plant's leaves are turning yellow but the veins remain green, it might have a magnesium deficiency. Epsom salts are a great solution for both of these problems.
Which plants shouldn't you try this with? Don't add eggshell fertilizer to plants that prefer acidic soil, like blueberries. Ericaceous plants such as mountain laurel, pieris and azaleas also fall into that category. In extreme cases, low acidity for plants could impact their overall health and/or the resulting crop.